S It 




Author 



Title 



Imprint 



16—47372-3 6PO 



INFORMATION ABOUT 



FISH 



AND HOW TO USE THEM 



ISSUED BY 

Mayor's Committee on Food Supply 



JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, Mayor 
GEO. W. PERKINS, - Chairman 
JOSEPH HARTIGAN, - Secretary 




OCTOBER, 1914 



INFORMATION ABOUT 



FISH 



AND HOW TO USE THEM 



ISSUED BY 

Mayor's Committee on Food Supply 



JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, Mayor 
GEO. W. PERKINS, - Chairman 
JOSEPH HARTIGAN, - Secretary 



OCTOBER, 1914 






PRESS OF 

The J. W. Pratt Co. 

52-58 DuANE Street 

New York 



0. '"' D- 
PR SSI i 



5102. '14, 12,500 (P) 






CONTENTS. 



Page 
SUPPLEMENTING OUR MEAT SUPPLY WITH FISH, by M. E. 

Pennington, Chief, Food Research Laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry. 23 

INTRODUCTION 5 

FISH IN SEASON 6 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS 6 

BAKED FISH: 

Stuffing for baked fish 7 

Bass 7 

Bluefish 8 

Cod 8 

Eels 8 

Baked fluke (large flounder) 8 

Fish loaf 8 

Haddock 8 

Halibut 9 

Mackerel 9 

Salmon • 9 

Shad 9 

Weakfish 10 

Court bouillon (for boiling fish) 10 

BOILED FISH: 

Cod 10 

Halibut 10 

Fresh Mackerel 10 

Salmon 10 

BROILED FISH: 



Cod 

Halibut 

Mackerel 

Scrod (young cod) 

Salmon 

Shad 

Smelts 



FRIED FISH: 

Cod 11 

Eels 2 

Haddock 12 

Halibut 12 

Mackerel 12 

Perch 12 

Shad roe 12 

Smelts 12 

Fillet of Sole or Flounder 13 



CONTENTS— Continued. 

Page 
PANNED OR SAUTED FISH: 

Butter fish 7 

Cisco (lake herring) 7 

Herring 7 

Perch 7 

Porgies 7 

Trout 7 

Weakfish ■ 7 

See general directions 7 

SALT FISH: 

Bloaters 13 

Creamed codfish 13 

Codfish balls 13 

Codfish a la mode 13 

A salt codfish dish 13 

Fish cakes 14 

Fish hash . . . . : 14 

Finnan haddie 14 

Kippered herring 15 

Mackerel 15 

LEFT-OVER FISH: 

Creamed fish 15 

Curried cod 16 

Fish balls 16 

Fish croquettes 16 

Fish hash 17 

Fish with tomato sauce 17 

Fish with green peppers 17 

Fish pudding 17 

Fish toast 17 

Salmon and rice 18 

Scalloped fish 18 

Scalloped halibut 18 

FISH SOUPS: 

Fish stock 18 

Fish broth 18 

Fish soup from trimmings 18 

FISH STEW 19 

FISH CHOWDERS 19 

FISH SALADS 20 

FISH SAUCES: 

Bechamel sauce 21 

Drawn butter 21 

Egg sauce 21 

Maitre d'hotel sauce 21 

Tartare sauce 21 

Tomato sauce 21 

White sauce 21 



FISH. 

INTRODUCTION. 



The habit of eating fish on Fridays only is absurd, and should 
be stopped. Fish are just as appetizing and nourishing on Tuesdays and 
Thursdays as on Fridays, and if you and your neighbors will buy fish any 
day in the week you will get cheaper fish and better fish. Hundreds of 
carloads of fish are sent from New York to other cities because the people 
living here do not appreciate the value of fish as a food, and do not 
buy it as often as they should. 

Vary your diet as much as yon can. You zuill be more healthy if 
you do. Don't use meat so much. Use fish more. Fish is just as 
nourishing as lean meat, and if eaten with bread, potatoes, etc., will supply 
all the needs of the body. 

If possible, buy your fish from a fish dealer. 

When you buy fish, see that you get the trimmings. You are just 
as much entitled to them as you are to the trimmings of your meat. 
The meat part of almost any fish may be cooked separately. If you ask 
your fish dealer to remove the meat part of the fish for you, the trim- 
mings will consist of the head, the skeleton and the fins, and these can 
be used for fish stock, out of which can be made excellent fish soups and 
fish sauces. 

Halibut costs from 15c. to 22c. a lb. Market cod costs about 5c. 
less a lb. and can be cooked in the same way as halibut. It can be cut 
up into steaks; it can be boiled; the tail can be split and broiled in the 
same way that you would broil mackerel or bluefish, and it costs about 8c. 
less a lb. than either mackerel or bluefish. 

Haddock costs about 5c. to 8c. less a lb. than halibut, and can be 
cooked in the same way. Both cod and haddock are in season all the 
year, and, if properly .cooked, are extremely appetizing. 

When you buy bluefish, get a large si.'^e fish. A large sise one costs 
about 5c. less a pound than a medium si::e one, and if you buy a large 
one you will have enough left over for another meal. Any fish left over 
can be used to make fish cakes, or it can be creamed and put in a dish and 
baked. 

Lots of people go to a fish store and buy the fillets of a fish instead of 
buying the whole fish. A fillet of fish is nothing more nor less than the 
meat of the fish stripped from the skeleton. Some fish dealers have 
these fillets all ready on a platter for sale, but if you buy them that zvay 
you will pay anyzvherc from I5c. to 20c. more a lb. for them than if you 
bought the entire fish and asked your fish dealer to strip the fillets off 
for you and give you the trimmings. 



HOW TO TELL WHEN FISH IS FRESH. 

In fresh fish the eyes are bright, the gills red, and the flesh firm and 
odorless. 

Put fish in water, and if it sinks you will know it is fresh. If it 
floats, it is a sign that it is not fresh, and it should not be used. Serious 
illness is apt to follow the eating of fish that is not fresh. 

CLEANING FISH. 

Be sure that your fish is thoroughly cleaned before cooking it. It 
should be cleaned as soon as it is bought. 

FISH IN SEASON. 

Cod, scrod, haddock and chicken halibut can be obtained practically 
all the year. (Scrod is a young cod split down the back and the back- 
bone removed, except a small portion near the tail. Chicken halibut is the 
kind usually found in the markets.) 

Flounders are not so good in November, December and January. 

Smelts are in season from June to March. 

Mackerel are in season from May to September. 

Shad are in season from January to June. 

Salmon are in season from May to September, but can be obtained 
the greater part of the year. 

Bluefish are in season from May to October. As it is frozen and 
kept in cold storage from six to nine months, it may be obtained prac- 
tically all the year round. 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING. 

BOILED FISH. Small fish, such as small cod and haddock, 
should be cooked whole in enough boiling water to cover, to which is 
added salt, lemon juice or vinegar. Sew the fish in a piece of muslin to 
keep it from breaking to pieces. Large fish should be cut in thick pieces. 

BROILED FISH. Cod, haddock and mackerel should be split 
down the back and broiled whole. Salmon and chicken halibut should 
be cut in slices for broiling. Smelts and other small fish should be broiled 
whole without splitting. 

BAKED FISH. Bake on a greased fish sheet, or if you have not 
a fish sheet, two strips of muslin placed under the fish will answer the 
purpose. This will enable you to lift the fish from the pan when baked 
without breaking it. 

FRIED FISH. Wipe the fish dry, sprinkle with salt, then dip in 
flour or crumbs, then dip in egg, and again in flour or crumbs, and fry in 
deep fat. 



7 

PANNED FISH. This is suitable for any small fish or such as 
can be cut in slices. Have the fish well cleaned, seasoned with pepper 
and salt and dried with a little flour, or, better still, very fine bread 
crumbs. Have a large frying-pan smoking hot with as little grease in it 
as will keep the fish from sticking. Dripping from good, sweet salt pork 
is the best, but any sweet dripping will do. When the fat begins to smoke 
blue lay in the fish and brown quickly on both sides, then cover closely 
and set back to cook more slowly, from ten to twenty minutes, according 
to the size of the fish. Bass in all its varieties is suitable to cook in this 
way; so are butterfish, cisco (lake herring), herring, perch, porgies, trout, 
Vv^eakfish, etc. 

SAUTE FISH. Prepare your fish as for frying and cook in 
frying pan with small amount of fat. Cod steaks and smelts should be 
cooked in this way. 

SALT FISH. Very salt fish should be soaked several hours in 
three or four changes of warm water. Place the skin side up, so that salt 
crystals may fall away from the under or meat side. Wipe carefully and 
clean, then soak for an hour in very cold water. 

BAKED FISH. 
STUFFING FOR BAKED FISH. 

Put a large tablespoon ful of butter into a saucepan. When melted 
stir into it 1 cupful of cracker or dry bread crumbs, 1 teaspoonful of 
chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful chopped capers, ^4 teaspoonful salt, J4 tea- 
spoonful pepper, 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley. If a moist stuffing is 
preferred, add one quarter cupful of milk, stock or water. 

BREAD STUFFING. (For baked fish.) 

Fry a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a tablespoonful of butter. 
Add a cupful or more of stale bread, which has been soaked in hot water, 
then pressed dry. A tablespoonful each of chopped parsley, suet and 
celery, one quarter teaspoonful each of salt and pepper, and a dash of 
powdered thyme (if liked). When it is well mixed, remove from the 
fire and add an tg%. 

BAKED BASS. Wash and clean a fresh bass for baking, leaving 
on the head. Stuff the fish with the following mixture: two and one-half 
cups of fine bread crumbs, one cup of butter, the rind of a quarter of a 
lemon chopped very fine, two or three sprigs of parsley chopped fine, and 
a little sweet marjoram. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. 
Mix two well-beaten eggs with a little water, and add to the mixture. 
When the fish is well stuffed, sew up the opening. Score it on each side, 
in the spaces place very thin slices of salt pork. Place it in a pan with 
a little stock, and bake in a moderate oven. When thoroughly cooked, 
carefully place it on a hot dish. 

To the gravy which is left in the pan, add a little tomato sauce. Stir 



8 

on the top of the range until it comes to a boil. Strain and serve in a 
separate dish. Garnish the fish plate with parsley and thin slices of 
lemon. 

BAKED BLUEFISH. Select a nice large bluefish, clean, and 
prepare it for baking. Wash it in salted water, and after drying it thor- 
oughly, fill with stuffing. Sew up the opening and rub the fish all over 
with salt. Then having put small pieces of butter over it, place it in a 
large pan with enough water to cover the bottom, and bake in a hot oven 
for forty-five or fifty minutes. After it begins to bake, sprinkle it with a 
little salt and pepper. Baste it often with the liquid in the pan, and a little 
melted butter. When it is cooked and a nice color, remove carefully 
to a hot plate. Do not break it. vServe with a brown sauce, or any de- 
sired sauce poured round the fish as a garnish, or serve it in a separate 
dish. 

BAKED COD. Select a fresh cod, cut off the head and fins, 
draw, wash, and split it down the belly. Remove the bone from the thick 
part only, and make small lengthwise incisions in the skin in order to 
prevent the fish from curling while it is cooking. Put it to soak for 
three hours in a dressing made as follows : Salt, white pepper, a little 
Worcestershire sauce, and some sweet oil. Drain and place in a pan. 
Baste it with melted butter and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs. Bake in 
a slow oven. Add some lemon juice and finely chopped parsley. 

BAKED EELS. Prepare as for frying; then put into a baking 
pan with a little water, flour, pepper, and salt. Bake twenty minutes. 
Make a gravy of the liquor in which they were baked, adding a little 
butter. 

BAKED FLUKE (large flounder). Prepare and cook the same 
as baked bluefish. 

FISH LOAF. Three pounds haddock. Have head, tail, skin 
and backbone removed, so you have two slices of solid fish. You can use 
cod, but haddock is better. On the bottom of your baking pan put three 
slices fat pork. On this place one layer of the fish, sprinkle with salt and 
pepper. Mix one cup soft bread crumbs, little salt, pepper and one- 
quarter cup melted butter, pork fat or bacon fat and spread over the fish 
slice. Cover with the other slice of fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper 
and place three or four slices of fat pork on top. Bake about thirty 
minutes. Just before it is done remove pork, scatter one-half cup cracker 
crumbs over fish, replace pork and brown in oven. Serve with drawn 
butter sauce, to which you add a hard-boiled egg; or serve with a white 
sauce. If you haven't milk enough for the white sauce use milk and 
water. 

BAKED HADDOCK. Clean a four-pound haddock. Sprinkle 
with salt inside and stufi' and sew. Cut gashes on each side of backbone 
and insert narrow strips of salt pork. Place on a greased fish sheet or 
something to raise it from the bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, 



dredge with flour, and place around fish small pieces of salt pork. Bake 
one hour in a hot oven, basting often. Serve with drawn butter sauce 
or egg sauce. 

BAKED HALIBUT. Arrange six thin slices of fat salt pork 
(about two and one-half inches square) in a baking pan. Wipe a two- 
pound (or as much as you happen to have) piece of halibut with a damp 
cloth and place it in the part. Cover the fish with three tablespoonfuls of 
butter creamed and mixed with three tablespoonfuls of flour; then cover 
the top with three-quarters of a cupful of buttered cracker crumbs and 
arrange five thin strips of fat salt pork over the crumbs. Cover with 
buttered paper and bake fifty minutes in a moderate oven, removing 
the paper durfng the last fifteen minutes to brown the crumbs and pork. 
Garnish with thin slices of lemon (cut in fancy shapes if desired) then 
sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Serve with drawn butter sauce. 

BAKED MACKEREL. Stuff with dressing, dredge with salt 
and flour. Bake thirty minutes, basting often with water, butter and flour. 
Make a gravy with the water in the pan in which the fish is baked. Al- 
ways make the gravy quite salt. The best way to cook mackerel is to 
broil it. 

BAKED SALMON. Clean the fish, rinse it, wipe it dry; rub it 
well outside and in with a mixture of pepper and salt, and fill it with a 
stuffing made of slices of bread, buttered freely and moistened with hot 
milk or water (add sage or thyme to the seasoning if liked) ; tie a thread 
around the fish, so as to keep the stuffing in (take ofif the thread before 
serving) ; lay bits of butter over the fish, dredge flour over, and put in 
a dripping pan ; put a pint of hot water in the pan to baste with ; bake one 
hour, if a large fish, in a quick oven; baste frequently. Serve with 
slices of lemon. 

BAKED SALMON WITH CREAM SAUCE. Butter a sheet 
of foolscap paper on both sides, and wrap the fish up in it, pinning the 
ends securely together. Lay in the baking pan, and pour six or seven 
spoonfuls of butter-and-water over it. Turn another pan over all, and 
steam in a moderate oven from three-quarters of an hour to an hour, 
lifting the cover, from time to time, to baste and assure yourself that the 
paper is not burning. Meanwhile, have ready in a saucepan a cup of 
cream, in which you would do well to dissolve a bit of soda a little larger 
than a pea. This is a wise precaution whenever cream is to be boiled. 
Heat this in a vessel placed within another of hot water ; thicken with a 
heaping teaspoonful of cornstarch ; add a tablespoonful of butter, pepper, 
and salt to taste, a liberal pinch of minced parsley, and when the fish is 
unwrapped and dished, pour half the dressing slowly over it, sending the 
rest to table in a boat. If you have no cream use milk, and add a beaten 
egg to the thickening. 

BAKED SHAD. Many people are of the opinion that the very 
best method of cooking a shad is to bake it. Stuff it with bread crumbs, 
salt, pepper, butter, and parsley, and mix this up with beaten yolk of 



10 

egg; fill the fish with it, and sew it up or fasten a string around it. Pour 
over it a little water and some butter, and bake as you would a fowl. 
A shad will require from an hour to an hour and a quarter to bake. 

BAKED WEAKFISH. Prepare and cook the same as baked cod. 

COURT BOUILLON. 

Fresh-water fish or others which are without much flavor can be 
boiled in court bouillon to give them flavor. Court bouillon is made as 
follows : 

Fry in one tablespoonful of butter, one chopped carrot, one chopped 
onion, one stalk of celery. Then add two quarts of hot water, one cup 
of vinegar or wine, three peppercorns, three cloves, one bay-leaf, one tea- 
spoonful of salt. 

BOILED FISH. 

BOILED COD. Take the head and shoulders of a good-sized 
cod. Scrape and wash clean ; rub a handful of salt into it ; flour a cloth 
and pin the fish in it. Put into boiling water, and boil half an hour. 
Take the fish carefully from the cloth, and serve with egg sauce. Potato 
is the only vegetable that is nice with boiled cod. 

BOILED HALIBUT. Take a small halibut, or what you re- 
quire from a large fish. Put it into the fish kettle, with the back of the 
fish undermost; cover it with cold water, in which a handful of salt and 
a bit of saltpetre the size of a hazel-nut have been dissolved. When it 
begins to boil skim it carefully, and then let it just simmer till it is done. 
Four pounds of fish will require half an hour nearly to boil it. Drain 
it, garnish with horse-radish or parsley. Egg sauce, or plain melted 
butter, are served with it. 

BOILED FRESH MACKEREL. If not cleaned, open them at 
the gills, take out the insides, wash clean, and pin in a fish-cloth. (Do 
not use the cloth that you use to boil mackerel for any other fish.) Drop 
into boiling water, and boil fifteen minutes. Serve with drawn butter. 

SALMON, BOILED PLAIN. Rub the fish with salt. Have 
ready a fish kettle with enough boiling water to cover the fish ; let it come 
rather slowly to the boil. Simmer very gently till done, allowing about 
fifteen minutes to each pound. Throw in one" tablespoonful salt just be- 
fore it is. done. Serve with plain drawn butter sauce. 

BROILED FISH. 

BROILED COD. Split, wash, and wipe dry a small cod. Rub 
the gridiron with a piece of fat pork, and lay the fish upon it, being care- 
ful to have the inside downward. If the fish is very thick cook thirty 
minutes ; but for an ordinary one, twenty minutes will be sufficient. Have 
the dish in which you intend serving it warm ; place it upon the fish 
and turn the dish and gridiron over together. If the fish sticks to the 



11 

gridiron loosen it gently with a knife. Have some butter warm, but not 
melted, with which to season it. Shake on a little pepper and salt and 
send to the table. 

BROILED HALIBUT. Season the sHces wnth salt and pepper 
and lay them in melted butter for half an hour, having them well covered 
on both sides. Roll in flour and broil for ten minutes over a clear fire. 
Serve on a hot dish, garnishing with parsley and slices of lemon. The 
slices of halibut should be about an inch thick and for every pound 
there should be three tablespoonfuls of butter. 

BROILED MACKEREL. Split down the back and clean. Be 
careful to scrape all the thin black skin from the inside. Wipe dry and 
lay on the gridiron ; broil on one side a nice brown, then turn and brown 
the other side ; it will not take so long to brown the side on which the 
skin is. (All fish should have the side on which the skin is turned to the 
fire last, as the skin burns easily and coals are not so hot after you have 
used them ten minutes.) Season with butter, pepper and salt. 

BROILED SCROD. Scrod is young cod, and one may weigh 
from two and a half to five pounds ; the best weigh four or five pounds. 
When thoroughly broiled it should be rich, flaky, and delicious. Rub the 
gridiron with fat pork and broil the inside of the fish first. Twenty 
minutes is usually sufficient to broil a fish of ordinary size. Serve with 
warmed butter, pepper, and salt. 

BROILED SALMON. The steaks from the centre of the fish 
are best. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread on a little butter, and 
broil over a clear but slow fire. 

BROILED SHAD. Scrape, split, wash, and dry the shad on a 

cloth ; season with pepper and salt ; grease the gridiron well ; as soon 
as it is hot lay the shad on to broil with the inside downward. One side 
being well browned, turn it. It should broil a quarter of an hour or 
more, according to the thickness. Butter well and send to table hot. 

BROILED SMELTS. Split the smelts down the back and re- 
move the bone. Lay them on a hot broiler, which has been rubbed with 
suet, to prevent sticking. Broil over hot coals for two minutes on each 
side. Put into a dish some Bechamel sauce, and lay the broiled fish on 
the sauce, or they may be spread with maitre d'hotel sauce. Serve at 
once while very hot. 



FRIED FISH. 

FRIED COD. Remove the skin (ask the fish-dealer to remove 
it for you) ; cut in square pieces and remove the backbone. Scrape all 
the fish from the bones, and press it with a knife into the larger pieces. 
Season with salt and pepper and roll in fine white corn meal. Fry several 
slices of salt pork, enough to have a cup of fat. Lay the fish in the hot 



12 

fat, cook brown on each side. Drain on soft paper and serve hot. Spread 
with butter, and garnish with slices of lemon. 

Any fish having firm white flesh can be prepared in this manner and 
it is a vast improvement on the old method of sending all the bones to 
the table. 

FRIED EELS. After skinning, cleaning, and washing them, cut 
them into short pieces, and dry them well with a soft cloth. Season 
them with fine salt and cayenne, flour them thickly, and fry them in boil- 
ing lard ; when nicely browned, drain and dry them, and send to the table 
with plain melted butter and a lemon, or with fish sauce. Eels are some- 
times dipped into batter and then fried, or into egg and dried bread 
crumbs, and served with plenty of crisped parsley, 

EELS FRIED IN BATTER. Cut a large eel weighing about 
two pounds in quite thick slices. See that it is clean. Place in a basin 
with a little salt and pepper and some vinegar. Let the pieces soak 
for several hours. They must be turned occasionally. Drain thoroughly, 
then dip in batter and fry in hot fat. When a nice brown, drain on paper 
and serve very hot with a brown or tomato sauce. 

FRIED HADDOCK. Follow same directions as for fried cod. 

FRIED HALIBUT. Let the slices lie in cold salted water, to 
which has been added one cup of vinegar, for ten or fifteen minutes. 
Dry them afterwards thoroughly by wiping with a towel, and dusting 
cracker meal on both sides. Lay them in smoking hot salad oil, and they 
will be well cooked and of a pale brown in three or five minutes, accord- 
ing to thickness of the slices. 

FRIED MACKEREL. Fry brown six good-sized slices of pork. 
Prepare your mackerel as for broiling. Take out your pork, sprinkle a 
little salt over the mackerel, then fry a nice brown. Serve the fried pork 
with it. 

FRIED PERCH. Scale and clean them perfectly; dry them 
well, flour and fry them in boiling lard. Serve plenty of fried parsley 
round them. 

FRIED SHAD ROE. Wash and wipe; fry twenty minutes in 
hot fat in a frying pan, turning at the end of fifteen minutes. Season, 
dish on a hot platter and garnish with fried oysters or fried potatoes. 
Garnish with a bunch of parsley at each end and a half lemon set in the 
parsley. 

FRIED SMELTS. The best way to cook smelts is to fry them, 

although they are sometimes baked. Open them at the gills. Draw each 
smelt separately between your finger and thumb, beginning at the tail; 
this will press the insides out. (Some persons never take out the in- 
sides, but it should be done as much as in any other fish.) Wash them 
clean, and let them drain in a colander; then salt and roll in a mixture 



13 

half flour and half Indian meal. Have about two inches deep of boiling 
fat in the frying-pan (drippings if you have them; if not lard); into 
this drop the smelts, and fry brown. Do not put so many in that they 
will be crowded ; if you do, they will not be crisp and brown. 

FILLET OF SOLE OR FLOUNDER. Take two soles or 
flounders; divide them from the backbone, remove the heads, fins, and 
vails. Sprinkle the inside with pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon. 
Roll in the shape of a corkscrew, then roll them in egg, then fresh bread 
crumbs, then in egg, and bread crumbs again. Fry in hot fat and serve 
on a napkin. Garnish with lemon baskets filled with Tartare sauce and 
sprigs of parsley. 

SALT FISH. 

BLOATERS. Take off head and split open and clean. Put fish 
into frying pan, cover with cold water and bring to boiling point. Pour 
off water and fry. 

CREAMED SALT CODFISH. Pick in small pieces one cup 
salt codfish ; cover with lukewarm water and let stand on back of range 
until softened. Melt one tablespoonful butter, add one tablespoonful 
flour, and pour on gradually one cup hot milk. Add fish, and turn on a 
hot platter. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. Serve with baked 
potatoes. 

SALT CODFISH BALLS. Trim and soak a piece of salt cod- 
fish in cold water for six or seven hours, and during that time change 
the water two or three times. Shred it. Should it be too salt after shred- 
ding, freshen it by frequent changes of cold water. There should be one 
quart bowl of the shredded fish. Cover it with water and let it simmer 
gently until tender. It will not take very long. Should you boil it too 
much, you might harden it. Have ready six good-sized, fresh-boiled 
potatoes, and mash them while hot. Have the fish drained, pounded, 
and rubbed through a sieve, and mix with three well-beaten eggs. Season 
to taste with salt — if necessary — and white pepper, also a small lump of 
butter. Drop by the tablespoonful into a pan of boiling hot lard and fry 
until a delicate brown. Drain on brown paper and serve very hot. 

CODFISH A LA MODE. Take one teacup of salt codfish picked 
up fine, two teacups of mashed potatoes, one pint of cream or milk. 
Mix them well together and then add two eggs well beaten. Stir them 
in thoroughly and then add a half cup of butter, and salt and pepper to 
taste. Put in a baking dish and bake twenty or thirty minutes. 

A SALT CODFISH DISH. Remove the skin and cut in pieces 
two and one-half pounds of salt cod. Soak for eighteen hours in cold 
water, changing water two or three times. Drain, place fish in a sauce- 
pan with cold water to cover it and let cook slowly (but not boil) for 
twenty minutes. Drain and remove all bones ; place cod in a saucepan ; 
then squeeze in the juice of a lemon and add drop by drop half a gill 



14 

of olive oil, sharply stirring while adding it. Then ponr in also, little by 
little, a half gill of cream or milk, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one 
salt-spoonful of cayenne and mix well. Serve on a hot, deep dish with 
slices of toasted bread around. 

FISH CAKES. Wash salt codfish and separate in pieces; there 
should be one cupful. Wash, pare and soak potatoes and cut in pieces of 
uniform size; there should be two cupfuls (heaping). Put fish and po- 
tatoes in kettle with a generous supply of boiling water, and cook until 
potatoes are soft. Drain, return to kettle, mash, add one egg, well beaten, 
one teaspoonful butter, one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, and a few drops of 
onion juice. Shape in flat cakes, roll in flour and fry in frying pan in 
small amount of pork fat. You can also use left over fish for these 
fish cakes. 

FISH HASH. Follow same directions as for fish hash made with 
left-over fish, but salt fish must be soaked for several hours. 

BAKED FINNAN HADDIE. Place fish in cold water, then 
place on fire and let it come to a boil ; then remove skin and place in a 
pan with two or three slices of fat pork; bake in a moderate oven twenty- 
five or thirty minutes. 

BOILED FINNAN HADDIE. Place fish in boiling water and 
boil for twenty minutes ; serve with egg sauce or drawn butter. 

BROILED FINNAN HADDIE. First heat broiler and grease 
well to keep from sticking; then place meat side to the fire and cook 
slowly fifteen minutes; careful not to burn. Butter and pepper to suit 
taste ; garnish with slices of lemon or parsley. 

CREAMED FINNAN HADDIE. Tear baddies into small 
strips ; wash clean and place in basin with quart of water ; let it simmer 
half an hour; then pour off water and add one pint of fresh milk. When 
this comes to a boil, thicken with one spoonful of flour; let it boil five 
minutes and add butter (size of a walnut) and a little pepper, and serve. 

SCALLOPED FINNAN HADDIE. Soak fish in milk and 
water to cover, using equal parts, one and one-half hours on back of 
range. Drain, separate into flakes and rinse thoroughly in warm water. 
There should be two cupfuls. Cook one-quarter cup butter with one 
tablespoonful of finely-chopped onion five minutes ; add quarter cup 
flour, one cup each of milk and cream or two cups of milk, one-half 
teaspoonful of paprika, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of salt, and when 
mixture thickens add the flaked fish and one-third cup canned red peppers, 
cut in strips. Cover bottom of dish with cooked macaroni, pour over 
the fish and set in oven for five minutes ; then sprinkle grated cheese 
over top and put under gas flame to remain until cheese is melted. 

To vary this, use a cup of potatoes cut in cubes and mix with the 
fish, omitting the macaroni. 



15 

SAVORY FINNAN HADDIE. Soak finnan haddie in milk to 
cover one hour. Bake thirty minutes and separate into flakes ; there 
should be two cups. Cook one-half tablespoonful finely-chopped onion 
and three and one-half tablespoonfuls finely chopped green peppers in 
one-quarter cup butter five minutes, stirring constantly. Add one tea- 
spoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful paprika and a few grains pepper and 
cook three minutes ; then add four tablespoonfuls flour and stir until well 
blended. Pour on gradually, while stirring constantly, one cup each 
milk and cream or two cups of milk. Bring to the boiling point and add 
finnan haddie. Turn into a buttered dish, cover with buttered crumbs 
and bake until the crumbs are brown. 

KIPPERED HERRING. Remove fish from can and arrange on 
a platter that may be put in the oven. Sprinkle with pepper, brush over 
with lemon juice and melted butter, and pour over the liquor left in the 
can. Heat thoroughly and garnish with parsley and slices of lemon. 

CREAMED SALT MACKEREL. Soak the mackerel for twelve 
hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. 
Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes ; and, if convenient, have in the 
water one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a 
sprig of parsley. Place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream 
sauce. 

BOILED SALT MACKEREL. Wash the mackerel, and soak 
over night in clear cold water. Put them on to boil in cold water, and 
boil gently thirty minutes. Serve with drawn butter. 

BAKED SALT MACKEREL IN CREAM. Freshen as for 
broiled mackerel, then lay into a baking pan, and to one mackerel add half 
a pint of new milk, put into the oven, and bake twenty-five minutes. 
About five minutes before it is dished, add a small piece of butter. This 
is a nice dish for breakfast and dinner. 

BROILED SALT MACKEREL. Soak the mackerel for twelve 
hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. 
Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes ; if convenient, have in the water 
one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig 
of parsley. Then broil and spread with butter, pepper, lemon juice 
and chopped parsley. 

HOW TO USE LEFT-OVER FISH. 

CREAMED FISH. Pick the fish into small pieces and heat in 
milk. Melt one tablespoonful of butter, add one tablespoonful of flour, 
and pour on gradually one cup hot milk. Stir until it thickens slightly. 
Add fish and cook gently for one minute. Turn on a hot platter and 
garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. Serve with baked potatoes. 

CREAMED CODFISH. Pick the cooked fish into small pieces. 
Make one pint white sauce (see Sauces). Grease a baking dish, fill with 



16 

alternate layers of fish and sauce, seasoning with salt, pepper, chopped 
parsley and lemon juice or a few drops of vinegar. Mix together one 
cup dry breadcrumbs and three tablespoon fuls melted butter; spread over 
top and brown in quick oven. 

This may be varied by using tomato, Bechamel, curry or any other 
sauce, or by adding grated cheese or sliced hard-boiled eggs to the white 
sauce ; by baking in shells or patty-pans in place of the deep dish, or by 
covering with mashed potato or biscuit crust instead of crumbs. 

CURRIED COD. Two slices large cod. or remains of any cod- 
fish, three ounces butter, one onion sliced, a teacup of white stock or 
water, thickening of butter and flour, one tablespoonful of curry powder, 
one-quarter pint of milk or cream, salt and cayenne to taste. Flake the 
fish, and fry to a nice brown, color with the butter and onions ; put this 
in a stewpan, add the stock and thickening, simmer for ten minutes. Stir 
the curry powder into the cream ; put it with the seasoning into the other 
ingredients ; give one boil and serve. Time, three-quarters of an hour. 
Sufificient for four persons. 

FISH BALLS. Take any left-over fish, put it in your chopping 
tray, being careful that there are no bones in it ; chop fine. Pare and boil 
potatoes enough to have twice the quantity of potatoes that you have of 
fish. When cooked turn them into the tray with the fish, mash fine, 
and make into balls about the size of an egg. Flour the outside lightly; 
have the fat boiling hot, and fry a light brown. The fat should be half 
lard and half salt pork. Have the slices of pork a nice brown, and serve 
with the fish balls. 

DROPPED FISH BALLS. One-half pint of raw fish, one heap- 
ing pint of pared potatoes (let the potatoes be under medium size), two 
eggs, butter the size of an egg, and a little pepper. Cut the fish in half- 
inch slices across the grain, and measure it lightly. Put the potatoes 
into the boiler and the fish on top of them ; then cover with boiling water 
and boil half an hour, or until tender. Drain ofif all the water and mash 
fish and potatoes together until fine and light. Then add the butter and 
pepper and the eggs, well beaten. Have a deep kettle of boiling fat. Dip 
a tablespoon in it and then take up a spoonful of the mixture, having care 
to get it into as good shape as possible. Drop into the boiling fat and 
cook until brown, which should be in two minutes. Be careful not to 
crowd the balls, and also that the fat is hot enough. The spoon should be 
dipped in the fat every time you take a spoonful of the mixture. These 
balls arc delicious. Salt fish can also be used to make these. 

FISH CROQUETTES. Put one large tablespoonful of butter 
in a saucepan. Let it bubble, then put in a little onion cut in small 
pieces, then a large spoonful of flour and some salt and pepper; then put 
in your fish and beat it up, then put the yolk of an egg in and beat it up. 
Put away to cool. When cool form into cone shape and roll in cracker 
crurnbs again and fry in hot fat. 



17 

FISH HASH. Prepare the fish as for fish balls; chop fine cold 

potatoes, and mix with the fish. Fry brown six good slices of salt pork ; 
take out the pork and turn the hash into the frying" pan ; add half a cup 
of boiling water; let this heat slowly, stirring often; then spread smoothly, 
and brown, being careful not to let it burn. When brown fold it as you 
would an omelet dish, and garnish the dish with the slices of pork. When 
the pork is objected to, butter can be used instead. 

FISH WITH TOMATO SAUCE. One cup tomatoes, one-half 
cup water, one-half of an onion sliced. Cook tomatoes, water and onion 
twenty minutes. Melt one tablespoonful of butter and add one table- 
spoonful of flour, stir into hot mixture, add one-half teaspoonful salt and 
one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, cook until it thickens and strain. Put fish 
in a baking dish and pour the tomato sauce around it. Bake from fifteen 
to twenty minutes in a moderate oven. 

FISH WITH GREEN PEPPER. One and three-quarters cups 
cold cooked fish, one cup white sauce, one-half small green pepper, one- 
half slice onion or flavor to taste with extract onion. Salt and pepper. 

Cut a slice from stem end of pepper, remove every seed and parboil 
pepper fifteen minutes. Make a white sauce with one cup milk, two 
tablespoonfuls butter, two tablespoonfuls flour, bit of bay leaf, sprig of 
parsley, salt and pepper to taste, scalding the milk with the parsley and 
bay leaf, cook the onion finely chopped in the butter three minutes, or 
flavor with onion extract to taste; add the flour when well mingled, the 
milk, salt and pepper ; when thickened and smooth add the fish broken into 
flakes and the green pepper cut into narrow strips ; heat thoroughly, and 
serve with brown bread sandwiches. 

This is easily prepared in a chafing-dish, having the green pepper 
previously cooked. 

FISH PUDDING. 1 lb. or pint boiled halibut, half cupful of 
cream or milk, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of butter, half tablespoon- 
ful of flour, one and one-half teaspoonfuls salt, quarter teaspoonful pep- 
per, half teaspoonful onion juice, two eggs. 

Pound the fish in a mortar until it is thoroughly mashed, then rub 
it through a puree sieve ; season the fish pulp with salt, pepper, and onion 
juice. Put the butter into a saucepan; when melted add the flour and 
cook for a few minutes ; then add slowly the cream or milk, stirring con- 
stantly until well scalded; then add the fish pulp, take from the fire, add 
the beaten eggs, and mix thoroughly. 

Butter well a border or ring mold holding a pint or little more; put 
in the mixture, pressing it w^ell against the sides to remove any air 
bubbles. Cover the mold with a greased paper, and set in a pan of 
warm water covering one-half the mold. Place in moderate oven for 
thirty minutes, and do not let the water boil. 

FISH TOAST. One cup flaked cold fish, free from skin and 
bones. Heat in water sufficient to moisten; add butter, pepper and salt. 
When hot pour on slices of buttered toast ; garnish with eggs poached 
in muffin rings. 



18 

SALMON AND RICE. Form freshly boiled rice into flat cakes, 
brown slightly in butter on both sides and place on a warmed platter. 
Warm salmon that has been left over and spread over the rice. Over 
this pour a white sauce into which has been stirred the whites of two 
hard boiled eggs cut in dice. Garnish with the yolks cut into slices. 

SCALLOPED FISH. Two cups cold fish (cod, haddock or 
halibut), one and one-half cups milk, one slice onion, blade of mace, bit 
of bay leaf, three tablespoonfuls butter, three tablespoonfuls flour, one- 
half teaspoonful salt, one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, one-half cup buttered 
crumbs. 

Scald the mild with onion, mace and bay leaf. Remove seasonings. 
Melt the butter, add flour, salt and pepper, then gradually the milk. Boil 
three minutes. Put one-half the fish in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle 
with salt and pepper and pour over one-half the sauce. Repeat, cover 
with buttered crumbs, and bake until the crumbs are brown in a hot oven. 

SCALLOPED HALIBUT. Shred one cupful of cold boiled 
halibut ; pour in the food pan one and one-half cups milk and let come to 
a boil ; add butter size of an egg, salt and pepper, then the crumbs of 
four crackers, add lastly the halibut; let it cook five minutes, then add 
two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and serve on a hot platter with bits of 
buttered toast. 

FISH SOUPS. 

FISH STOCK. Put all the trimmings from the fish, such as the 
skeleton, head, fins, etc., into a saucepan, and add enough water to cover. 
Let simmer for two or three hours. Then add carrot, parsley, onion, and 
simmer for one hour more. Strain through a coarse strainer. This is a 
good foundation for fish soups and fish sauce. Left over fish and fish 
bones can also be utilized in preparing this stock. 

FISH BROTH. Fry four ounces of butter with the following 
vegetables sliced fine : two onions, two carrots and two leeks. Fry until 
quite dry. Then add four pounds of fish — such as bass, black fish, 
flounder, or any bony fish — and the head of a fresh cod, and seven quarts 
of water. Season with salt, peppercorns, bunch of parsley, and a few 
blades of mace. Cover the stew-pan and boil one-half hour. Strain the 
broth and free it from its fat. Chop up two pounds of cod or bass, 
mix with two eggs, add the broth and a few more sliced vegetables. Set 
it on the fire and stir constantly until it begins to boil. Then let it simmer 
for ten minutes and strain through a wet cloth. 

FISH SOUP FROM TRIMMINGS. Put into a saucepan a 
carrot and parsley and fry them until they are reddish in color. Then 
add two pints of cold water and the bones, head and fins. Simmer for 
an hour. Take out the bones and put the rest through a coarse strainer. 
Then thicken with two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of flour 
rubbed together, season to taste. This fish soup can be varied by adding 
the pulp of any left over vegetables. 



19 
FISH STEW. 

COD OR HADDOCK. Remove the meat from the bones. Cut 
uj) one-half of the meat and put it into a saucepan with two or three 
onions and fry in drippings. Add a quart of water and the bones 
pounded. Let simmer for two or three hours. Then put the mixture 
through a strainer and return it to the saucepan. Cut the other half of 
the fish into half inch pieces. Add them to what is in the saucepan and 
boil gently for ten or fifteen minutes. Then thicken with two table- 
spoons of flour ; moisten with a little fish stock if you have it on hand ; if 
not, use cold water. Season to taste. 

FISH CHOWDERS. 

FISH CHOWDER, No. 1. Take three or four pounds of fresh 
haddock or cod and cut in pieces of three inches square. Place in the 
bottom of your dinner-pot five or six slices of salt pork, fry brown, then 
add three onions sliced thin, and fry those brown. Remove the kettle 
from the fire, and place on the onions and pork a layer of fish. Sprinkle 
over a little, pepper and salt, then a layer of pared and sliced potatoes, a 
layer^of fish and potatoes, till the fish is used up. Cover with water, and 
let it boil for half an hour. Pound six biscuits or crackers fine as meal, 
and pour into the pot; and, lastly, add a pint of milk; let it scald well, 
and serve. 

FISH CHOWDER, No. 2. Take four pounds of haddock or cod, 
wash thoroughly, and cut the flesh from the bones in pieces about two 
inches square. Cover the head and bones with cold water and boil one- 
half hour. Slice two small white onions in a pan with four slices of thin, 
fat, salt pork. When tender, skim out the pork and onions and add the 
strained bone liquor and one quart of sliced raw potato. Cook for ten 
minutes, then add the fish, one tablespoonful of salt, and one-half tea- 
spoonful of white pepper. When the potatoes are tender, add one quart of 
hot milk which has been thickened with two ounces of butter and flour 
mixed together. Do not break the fish by needless stirring. Split six 
butter crackers, arrange in a tureen, and pour the fish chowder over 
them. 

FISH CHOWDER, No. 3. Three lbs. fresh fish, three large pota- 
toes, one large onion, half lb. salt pork, one pint milk, three ship crackers, 
pepper and salt. 

Cut the fish, the potatoes, and the onion into slices. Cut the pork into 
half-inch dice. Put the pork and the onion into a pan and saute them a 
light brown. Place in alternate layers in a large saucepan first potatoes, 
then fish, then pork and onion ; dust with salt and pepper, and continue in 
this order until all the materials are used. Cover the whole with boiling 
water and let the mixture simmer for twenty minutes. Scald a pint of 
milk or of cream, take it ofif the fire and add one and a half tablespoonfuls 
of butter and three broken ship crackers, or the same quantity of water 
biscuits. Arrange the fish mixture in a mound on a dish, cover it with 
the softened crackers, and pour over the whole the hot milk. 



20 

CAPE AND FISH CHOWDER. This is the everyday style of 
fish chowder among the fishermen's f amihes : Wash and cut in chunks 
two pounds of fresh cod or haddock. Pare and thinly slice one quart 
of potatoes (or as many as you prefer) and place in cold water until you 
are ready for them. Cut two slices of fat salt pork in dice and slowly fry 
out in chowder kettle until fat is extracted, stirring often. Remove scraps, 
add one large onion sliced, and fry slowly for a very few minutes. Then 
in your kettle place a layer of fish and one of potatoes, salt and pepper, 
and continue that way until all is used, potatoes on top. Cover with cold 
water and let come to boil, then boil slowly or simmer, until potatoes are 
done. Mix one tablespoonful flour with one of butter, add to chowder 
with one pint milk. Allow to come to boiling point once more, add a few 
halved crackers and serve very hot. Cheap and delicious. 



FISH SALADS. 

HALIBUT SALAD. Take a slice of halibut, rub well with salt ; 
steam until the flesh easily separates from the bone ; remove skin and 
bone, and with a fork separate it into flakes, not mincing it too fine; add 
a seasoning of salt, and French dressing to which has been added a few 
gratings of raw onion. When ready to serve, pour ofif what French 
dressing has not been absorbed and arrange in a salad dish with alternate 
layers of fish, cold boiled peas, cucumbers cut in cubes, and sprinkled 
with salt. Serve with leaves of lettuce and salad cream or Mayonnaise 
dressing. 

HERRING SALAD. Soak over night three Holland herrings, 
cut in small pieces. Cook and peel eight medium potatoes and when 
cold chop with two small cooked red beets, two onions, a few sour 
apples, three hard-boiled eggs ; mix with a sauce of sweet-oil, vinegar, 
stock, pepper and mustard to taste. 

SALMON SALAD. Shred some boiled salmon, mix with it half 
as much boiled potato cut in small cubes ; serve on lettuce leaves with salad 
cream. Shredded lettuce or peas may be used in place of potatoes. Garnish 
with sliced lemon and boiled beets cut in fancy shapes. 

FISH SALAD. Cold boiled or baked fish may be made into 
salad, allowing one head of lettuce and a half-pint of Mayonnaise or 
salad cream to every pint of the picked fish. 

SALAD CREAM FOR FISH SALADS. One-half tablespoon 
salt, one-half tablespoon mustard, three-quarters tablespoon sugar, one 
egg slightly beaten, two and one-half tablespoons melted butter, three- 
quarters cup cream, and one-fourth cup vinegar. Mix ingredients in 
order given, adding vinegar very slowly. Cook over boiling water, stir- 
ring constantly until mixture thickens, strain and cool. 



21 
FISH SAUCES. 

BECHAMEL SAUCE (Boiled Fish). Make a white sauce ac- 
cording- to directions given. Add a cupful of stock or half stock and 
half milk. A slice of onion, carrot and turnip should be fried in the 
butter before the flour is added. A richer Bechamel is made by adding 
a little cream and chopped mushrooms. 

DRAWN BUTTER. Beat one cup of butter and two spoonfuls 
of flour to a cream; pour over this one pint of boiling water; set on fire 
and let it come to a boil, but do not boil. Serve immediately. 

EGG SAUCE (Boiled Fish). To a pint, or two cupfuls, of white 
sauce, add three hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or small dice, and, if 
liked, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley. 

MAITRE D'HOTEL SAUCE (Broiled Fish). Two tablespoon- 
fuls of butter, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one tablespoonful of 
lemon juice, half teaspoonful of salt, half teaspoonful of pepper. 

Rub the butter to a cream ; add salt, pepper and parsley chopped very 
fine; then the lemon-juice slowly. Spread it on broiled meat or fish; let 
the heat of the meat melt the butter. The dish must not be put in the 
oven after the sauce is spread, or the parsley will lose its freshness and 
color. This sauce, which greatly improves as well as garnishes broiled 
meat, can be mixed and kept for some time in a cool place. Soften a little 
before using, so it will spread evenly, and be quickly melted by the hot 
meat or fish. 

TARTARE SAUCE. To a cupful of Mayonnaise made with 
mustard, add one tablespoonful of capers, three ohves, and two gherkins, 
all chopped very fine. A good Tartare sauce can be made by using Tar- 
ragon vinegar and a little onion-juice when mixing the Mayonnaise, and 
adding parsley and capers, both chopped very fine, just before serving it. 

TOMATO SAUCE. Two tablespoonfuls of butter, one table- 
spoonful of flour, one tablespoonful each of carrot and onion, half can 
of tomatoes, parsley, one bay-leaf, three cloves, half teaspoonful of salt, 
quarter teaspoonful of pepper. 

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan ; add the chopped onion 
and carrot, and let slightly brown; add the flour and cook five minutes, 
stirring constantly. Then add the tomatoes, cloves, bay-leaf, salt and 
pepper. Cook slowly for half an hour, or until the tomatoes are soft and 
reduced to right consistency. Then add a tablespoonful of butter (a 
small piece at a time to prevent an oily line) ; strain ; add more salt and 
pepper if necessary. 

WHITE SAUCE (Boiled Fish). One tablespoonful of butter, 
one tablespoonful of flour, one cupful of milk, half teaspoonful of salt, 
quarter teaspoonful of pepper. 



22 

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles 
add one tablespoonful of flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for five 
minutes, but do not let it color ; draw it to a cooler part of the range and 
add very slowly, stirring all the time, one cupful of cold milk, and stir 
until perfectly smooth and a little thickened. Season with salt and pepper. 
Most of the white sauces are simple variations from this sauce. Water 
may be used instead of milk, and it is then called drawn-butter sauce. 
It can be made richer by adding a little more butter, in small pieces, one 
at a time, after the milk is in ; also by adding the beaten yolk of an egg. 
If the egg is added remove the pan from the fire and let it cool a little 
before adding the egg ; then cook for a minute, but do not let it boil, or 
the egg will curdle. If a cupful of stock (or half stock and half milk) 
is used it becomes a Bechamel sauce. 



23 



SUPPLEMENTING OUR MEAT SUPPLY 
WITH FISH. 

By M. E. Pennington, 
Chief, Food Research Laboratory , Bureau of Chemistry. 

(Extracts from Yearbook of Department of Agriculture for 1913.) 

Meat shortage was an old problem to other nations when our Nation 
was in its infancy. To supplement their supply of meat they turned to 
the sea for fish. 

The United States must now deal with the problem of meat short- 
age. The settlement of our vast cattle ranches and the breaking up of 
the great pasturage areas into cultivated farms have interfered with one 
of our natural sources of a meat supply. At the same time the increase 
in the value of corn has made cattle raising for meat purposes a difficult 
problem on the small farm. We, too, apparently, shall have to turn to the 
sea. 

One of the greatest difficulties in the way of utilizing this resource 
is the ignorance of the American people, especially of the native-born, 
well-to-do people, in regard to the kinds of food fishes, their desirability 
as foods from the viewpoint of both nutriment and palatability, and the 
methods of cooking which tend to enhance their food value. Yet Ameri- 
cans are delighted at the delicacy of English whitebait, at the fine flavor 
of the sole cooked in Paris, and' at the appetizing aroma of the smoked 
salmon in the sandwich so universally served in Germany. 

We quite forget that the sand dab of the southern California coast 
more than equals the English sole ; that the pompano of our southern 
waters, the whitefish of the Great Lakes, and the mackerel and bluefish 
of the east coast are not surpassed by any of the finny delicacies served 
in Europe, and that the delicious salmon in the German sandwich is more 
than likely the product of our own Pacific fisheries exported to Germany, 
because it finds comparatively scant favor at home. 

There is also a common belief that fish does not furnish us with as 
much high-grade food material as meat. Analyses of meat and fish, how- 
ever, show an encouraging similarity in tissue-building. 

The foreign-born population of the United States are the fish con- 
sumers of the Nation. They have brought fish-eating habits with them 
from nations where fish is commonly used in place of meat. Whereas 
we have done comparatively little to stimulate our fisheries, the older 
nations have expended, and now are expending, every efifort to gather 
the crops that the waters yield so abundantly, and to deliver them cheaply 
and in prime condition to their people, not only along the coast, but 
to extreme inland towns. 



24 

THE FISHERIES OF ENGLAND. 

England knows she can produce only a portion of her meat supply, 
but she believes she can produce all her fish supply and also export to 
other countries. England's fisheries, as a source of her food supply, 
are considered of very great importance, and the fishing fleet is recog- 
nized as bearing an important relation to her navy. An enormous quan- 
tity of fish is caught in the fisheries of the United Kingdom (in 1912 
the catch amounted to 2,698,400,544 pounds, valued at $64,405,334), and 
it is distributed speedily and in very good condition. All these factors 
help to make fish not only a relatively cheap food article, but also a 
popular one. 

HOW GERMANY ENCOURAGES FISHING. 

One phase of the work of the association, and one which is sup- 
ported by the Government, is the education of the people regarding the 
kinds of fish and their desirability as a food. "A series of cookery 
lessons was started in Berlin and other large cities, using moving picture? 
to show the methods of fishing and the varieties of fish, and to aid in ex- 
plaining their food value. This movement was enthusiastically received 
and at present articles are frequently being written and issued in pamph- 
let form which contain helpful and heretofore little known facts regard- 
ing sea fish and the best methods of preparing them for the table. As 
a consequence the taste for fish has spread amazingly and the various 
trawling concerns have entered upon an era of prosperity which seems 
likely to be permanent." Naturally, such an educational campaign has 
created an exceptional demand for fish, not only near the sea, but more 
especially inland, where the people, like our own inland population, know 
practically nothing of sea fish nor how to cook them. 

Germany has very wisely turned her attention to the handling of fish 
so as to preserve quality and prevent waste. Her vessels, like our own, 
go long distances for their catch. Hence the fish must be packed with 
care if they are to reach the market in good order. Some of the newer 
vessels are provided with refrigeration to aid in preserving freshness. 
At Geestemunde, especially, much attention is given to the preservation 
of food fish, thereby preventing market gluts and utilizing as food many 
fish that would formerly have been turned over to fertilizer or oil fac- 
tories. 

VARIETIES OF FISH IN THE MARKETS. 

The usual consumer near the seacoast has no idea of the many 
kinds of fish that are to be found in his market, nor of their seasonal 
variation. A visit to any large wholesale fish market in the United 
States is a voyage of discovery to most consumers. They will then see 
more kinds of fish for sale than they had supposed in the sea. But 
such a market displays little variety when compared with the fish market 
of the "Halle Centrale" in Paris, or the wonderful market on the Grand 



25 . . 

Canal in Venice. Spread out in trays, garnished with green and red 
and brown seaweeds, arranged to catch the eye by beauty of color and 
design, are dehcacies that our fishermen never trouble to bring on shore 
because we do not consider them desirable food. The praised soup 
served in Naples was made from a member of the cuttlefish family — a 
"squid" — eaten here only by Italians, and used for bait by our fishermen. 
The much desired "raie au beurre noir" of Paris is, in plain English, 
just a piece of skate, or ray, that would not be salable in an American 
market. 

The prevailing ignorance concerning frozen fish is even greater than 
that concerning fresh fish. There is probably not one in ten thousand 
American housewives who would not refuse hard-frozen salmon at 15 
cents a pound in favor of fresh-caught cod at 18 cents a pound. Yet 
most of them would doubtless consider salmon more or less of a delicacy. 

The foreign-born population in the congested areas of our large 
cities are not prejudiced in favor of certain varieties ; provided the price 
is within their means the name of the fish is a secondary matter. And if 
the fish is palatable the fact that it is hard frozen does not weigh against 
a low price. Consequently, we find hard-frozen whitings and other 
plentiful fish selling for a few cents a pound in inland towns as well as 
on the coast, when the shops in the residence districts are charging double 
the price for the same article thawed to simulate fresh-caught fish and 
sold as fresh, a condition directly traceable to the ignorance of the 
consumer. 

PREPARATION OF FISH FOR THE TABLE. 

The person who has enjoyed the appetizing and satisfying fish served 
so universally in Europe, or even in New Orleans, finds a woeful lack 
of ability on the part of the American cook to utilize to the best advantage 
even the high-class fish, and a hopeless incompetence when the less de- 
sirable varieties are used. The many attractive sauces that add flavor 
and piquancy are unknown. The many accessory dishes, such as salads, 
croquettes, pates, etc., that may be made from fish are never considered. 
A very great gain would accrue to this Nation if some agency would 
follow the example of Germany and institute classes in the art of cook- 
ing fish. 

To fish, more than to any other nitrogen-rich product, must we look 
for a food supply to supplement the meat which we can not hope to have 
in the future as in the past, either in price or in quantity. All food taken 
from the sea is a net gain to the land. This food in no way impoverishes 
the soil, and in fact adds to the fertilizing elements of the country. On 
the other hand, food raised on the land necessarily takes elements from 
the soil, and this tends to impoverish the fertility of our farms unless 
the elements withdrawn are artificially restored. This is true of every 
animal raised for meat purposes, although, of course, the depletion of the 
soil on which meat animals are fed is not so direct as when corn or 
some other product is raised and shipped away to be consumed in some 



26 

distant section. There is, moreover, a limit as to the amount that can 
be produced on the land. The fish in the seas, on the other hand, feed 
and breed unaided and practically in unlimited numbers. Like many 
another of our resources, we have not yet begun to fathom the value of 
the fish in our waters. Only time and necessity will teach what they 
mean to our Nation. 



■■if^ 



::^m 



